the tales of Fairy Tail
by yeti100
Summary: the guild is relaxing after the trials of Edolas, but when the master selects Fairy tails strongest team for a joint mission with a newly formed guild, they'll be emersed in a world of trouble. contains two OCs
1. black rampart

hey Fairy tail fans, this is my first ever attempt at a fairy tail story, i have tried where possible to capture that certain random spark that i associate with Fairy Tail because i love the anime and manga. i love the chance to improve my work so any hints and tips for making this story better would be much appreciated, anyway please enjoy

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><p>"Natsu!"<p>

the guild turned in fear as the terrifying form of Erza stomping through the guild looking for the pink haired dragon-slayer

"what did that flame brain do this time?"

Gray sat at the bar watching the scene with interest

"my favorite cake shop has been destroyed, burned to the ground the owner said the last thing he could remember was an arguement with Natsu about the existence of dragons"

Erza had been looking forward to that cake for a week now after the events of Edolas she felt she deserved it, before gray could respond a tiny squeak issued from behind the bar

"Natsu"

the bar shattered as Natsu made a break for the door, before he could escape a rain of steel halted his escape

"you should know better hot-head"

Gray turned away just in time to see the distraught Mirajane and Cana crouched over the remains of the bar

"my bar"

"my alcohol"

the two simulataneously turned on Natsu standing either side of Erza all shooting him death glares

"it was an accident"

Natsu's voice came out as a squeak. outside the guild two young mages approached the front of the guild

"so this is fairy tail, the master said that Makarov would be assigning some of his strongest mages to this mission, do you think they'll be enough"

he turned to look at his friend a questioning look on his face

"i dunno, they're powerful there's no denying that after what they did to Oracion seis, but even they might not be enough for what we have to face next"

he let loose a big puff of air and started walking towards the guild before he could get very far a massive explosion issued from the doorway and a pink haired young man came flying towards them.

"get down"

the larger of the two pushed his friend to the side before digging in his heels

'earth merge'

his feet blended with the earth under his feet and he caught Natsu without moving an inch

"pardon me, we didn't mean for you to get caught up in our guilds discussion"

Erza had approached them and considered the young man holding Natsu, he looked fairly muscular under his short sleeved shirt it was a light green and he was wearing three-quarter length shorts that were a light brown, his black hair was short and scruffy and he had one blue eye and one green eye that caught her attention, she also noted his bare feet and a satchel slung over one shoulder

"quite the discussion, i'm Marcus"

Marcus dropped Natsu and helped his friend to his feet, he couldn't hide his grin

"you're lucky it was Marcus that was in the way of your friend, anyone else might have been hurt"

Gray and Lucy had followed Erza from the guild and neither could believe that someone would be stupid enough to talk to Erza like that, he looked skinny under his jeans and button-up shirt, and even with his long brown hair falling into his dark brown eyes there was no hiding the glare that he shot at Erza

"I apologise profusely, it was not my intention to hurt anyone"

Natus whimpered from his place on the floor but Erza ignored him

"yeah well you should be more careful"

he took a look at the guild mark on Lucy's hand

"I'm Luke and we're both here from the Black Rampart guild we were told to talk to your master about a joint mission between our two guilds"

Lucy and Gray recovered from the shock of Erza's apology and stared at both of the newcomers, the master had been discussing a mission for some time

"yes we have been expecting you, please follow me"

the two mages from Black Rampart followed Erza into the guild, Lucy and Gray hung back

"what mission do you think they've been sent to do"

Gray shrugged his shoulders

"i don't know, but the last time a guild alliance was formed was to take on Oracion seis, whatever's going on has got to be big"

Lucy nodded and followed Gray into the guild. nobody noticed Natsu on the floor

"help me"

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><p>poor Natsu i seem to have picked on him a lot in this chapter, happy, Wendy and her cat are likely to make an appearance in the next chapter where i'll also shed some light on the mysterious mission, until next time can someone tell me the name of Wendy's cat, i watch the anime subbed and her name keeps changing.<p> 


	2. vault of the last breath

next chapter, thanks to reviews for helping me with Charle's name. I'm going to keep working on this story because ideas are coming thick and fast. so as always ideas for tips and imrpovement are appreciated. there are quite big spoilers in this story from the end of the edolas arc so if you don't want to know then don't read

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><p>Luke and Marcus stood at the centre of the guild all eyes on them, Makarov looked at them both with a curious expression on his face, Jura had told him he was sending two of his most promising students, he could sense strong magical power from both of them<p>

"welcome children i'm glad you made it, your master sent word you were coming, i take it his investigations have turned up results"

Luke nodded silently

"Master Jura enlisted the help of Hibiki from blue pegasus, his archive magic along with the information from our contact allowed us to narrow down it's location"

Makarov was impressed with the progress Jura had made since his appointment as guild master of the newly formed Black Rampart guild

"very well let us continue this discussion in private, Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, Happy, Charle please come with us"

Mira nodded and team Natsu followed the Master into a private room in the guild, once the door was closed they all sat down and Luke started to speak

"a loose collection of dark guilds outside the reach of the balam alliance are after a place we call the vault of the last breath, they haven't found the exact location yet but are gaining ground, the council wants us to find the location first and prevent the dark guilds from accessing it"

they all considered him quietly, Natsu leaped to his feet fist in the air

"well alright then i'm all fired up, let's go"

he received a glare from Luke

"i know i've said this before to Master Jura and i'll say it again, he shouldn't be on this mission, we need subtlety, intelligence, not whatever he is"

Natsu looked ready to jump over the table and fight with Luke but Erza silenced him with a raised hand

"you should not underestimate his intelligence or his instincts, these are both good reasons for him to be on this mission"

Luke ignored Natsu and turned to Erza

"there's only one reason he was even considered for this mission and it isn't his intelligence, and as for the little girl"

his eyes turned to Wendy who fixed him with her best determined look

"i may not be a powerful fighter like Natsu but don't underestimate me"

nobody noticed the smile tugging at the corner of Marcus's mouth

"yeah Wendy's magic has saved us all on missions together"

Lucy had risen out of her chair to shout at Luke, she really didn't like him. before the arguement could continue further Marcus stood up slowly and raised his hands in a sign of surrender

"OK we were all selected for this mission, and we each bring something to the table that will be useful on the mission, it would be best to try and lay problems like these aside until the mission is done"

he caught the eyes of each mage in the room before his eyes stopped on Luke who couldn't hold his friends gaze

"well said, now Marcus and Luke will lead the way to the location of the vault, once there you have your orders, meanwhile the coucil will coordinate efforts to track down the guilds of this new dark alliance and stop them, but it is imperative that you protect that vault, understood"

he recieved nods from everyone in the room and smiled an old sad smile, once again his children were headed into danger, as always the idea worried him, but he knew they had been trained well

"come on Happy let's go"

"aye sir"

the two of them stormed out of the guild, Happy sailing through the air. Marcus looked on, a very bemused expression on his face

"do they even know where they're going"

Gray stood up as well and shook his head

"no but they'll figure it out after a couple of miles, come on we should get moving, the next train is in about an hour, it will give us time to prepare"

everyone nodded and split up. elsewhere Natsu had finally realised he didn't know where to go. before he could turn back he noticed the graceful form of Lisanna gliding through the sky towards him. she landed in a flash of magic, and there stood the girl he knew so well

"hey Lisanna, it's good to see you"

she smiled at him hands behind her back

"it's good to see you too, i heard about your mission"

her tone had changed to one of worry

"don't worry about me Lisanna, i'll come back"

Natsu flashed a smile at Lisanna before turning back towards the guild. his hand raised above his head in the call sign of Fairy Tail

"you'll always be thinking about me won't you Natsu"

smiling Lisanna took to the skies again. after an hour of preparation the newly formed alliance was ready at the station

"right we can travel to temarin village by train but after that we need to go on foot"

Natsu had paled at the idea of travelling that far on the train

"honestly Happy, your dragon slayer still can't handle transportation, embarassing"

Wendy cast an apologetic look at Happy and Natsu before following Charle onto the train. there wasn't room for everyone in one comapartment so Luke went to sit in another one, and much to everyone's surprise so did Wendy and Charle

"don't worry i'll be fine"

Lucy looked uneasy with the idea but knew that Wendy could take care of herself, once alone Charle turned on Luke

"you child have a serious problem with Dragon-Slayers, i don't know why but it is my job to protect Wendy and i need to no if you are going to be a threat to her"

Luke looked at Charle, a cold calculating expression on his face

"do you really need to protect a creature that has taken the destructive power of a dragon as her own"

Charle faltered for a second but Wendy wasn't going to be quiet

"Grandine's power is not destructive, she taught me to heal and give strength to others, and i am not a creature"

he smiled but the expression didn't reach his eyes

"yes and next you are going to tell me you healed nirvanna to destruction, you can insist you aren't a destructive creature but i wouldn't call you completely human either"

Wendy looked close to tears, she couldn't understand why he was saying these things. before Charle could continue her arguement he raised a hand to cut her off

"you aren't going to change my mind with a couple of well chosen words, so just drop it"

with that he left the carriage leaving a stunned Wendy in his wake. Marcus noticed his friend but decided against following him for the moment

"so yeah that's pretty much all of my spirits, the 9 golden keys are my most powerful and best to use in combat"

Marcus nodded making a mental note of each spirit and it's powers, he had been trying to get a good idea of what each member of the team could do

"what about you, what kind of magic can you use"

Gray had seen him catch Natsu and was curious about this mage and what he could do

"well i call it merging magic, you might have seen me use it when i caught your friend, i merged with the ground and took on the physical properties it possessed, in this case being immovable and strong, i can do it with other solid materials as well, i can make my skin like metal if i merge with my bracelets, good for close combat as well as defense, and with trees and other wooden objects, although i haven't found a good use for wooden skin yet, oh yeah and recently i realised i could merge with the crystal in this"

he held up a small pendant with a diamond set into the centre

"oh that's pretty"

it was quite a beautiful charm, it was circular with the diamond set into the centre

"thanks, it belonged to my mother, she gave it to me to keep me safe"

having skin like diamond had certainly kept him safe before

"what about your friend Luke, what magic does he possess"

Natsu wanted to know if the guy would be a good fight if he kept insulting Dragon-Slayers

"don't fight him natsu, he's already looking for an excuse and his aura magic could kill you if you're not careful"

everyone turned to look at Erza none of them had heard of aura magic

"aura magic allows the user to manifest their aura into a physical form that is shaped by their emotional state, although it was believed to be a lost magic since..."

her eyes widened in surprise as she recalled the details of Gildarts ten year mission, looking at Marcus he nodded, everyone else just looked confused

"exactly, now if you'll excuse me i need to talk to Luke"

he left the compartment and followed his friend up the length of the train. back in the compartment everyone looked at Erza confused

"Erza what do you know that we don't?"

Lucy could see the deep look of concentration on her face

"i know that it would be unwise for Natsu or Wendy to confront him about his opinion of Dragons however unfair, because it is not without reason, beyond that i believe it is not my place to say"

most of them accepted this wordlessly, but Natsu still couldn't understand why this guy hated dragons so much. at the far end of the train Marcus had finally caught up to Luke

"you need to take it easy on Natsu and Wendy, i know why you're so angry but it's unfair on both of them"

Luke fixed him with a sad look

"how can I, they're as bad as the dragons that raised them, Why should i be nice to creatures like them"

Marcus shook his head, this arguement always ended the same way

"OK but promise me no fighting with Natsu"

Luke looked at him seriously

"I promise"

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><p>i'm going to keep fleshing out backstory for Luke little by little, i know there hasn't been much action yet but there will be in either the next chapter of the one after, as always reviews are appreciated<p> 


	3. temarin

this is my first attempt at action, i'm still a little unsure of how to do this so any pointers on what i did right and what i need to work on would be appreciated

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><p>the train finally pulled in at temarin village, the place was small, but the nearby volcano had left them with rich volcanic soil and any food grown here was strong and full of taste<p>

"come on Natsu the trains stopped moving"

Natsu was unconcious on the floor of the train, Wendy had cast Troia on him at the start of the journey but it's effects had worn off

"oh ignore him Happy, the train won't leave for another hour, he'll have recovered by then"

Charle followed Happy off the train along with the rest of the team

"OK so where are we going then"

Luke and Marcus were both consulting a map

"well our contact told us that the dark alliance had been concentrating their searches on the area around temarin, if we combine that with the information hibiki gave us then we should head east out of the village"

everyone nodded and followed them out of the station, compared to the bustle of the station the town felt unusually quiet

"so Luke what is the vault of the last breath, i've never heard of it"

Lucy had read many stories and legends of Fiore but the vault had never came up

"rumour has it that when dragons die their last breath turns to crystal, a crystal that holds their magical power, that is what we believe lies in the vault"

at the mention of dragons Natsu and Wendy looked at each other

"do you think there are any living dragons in the vault?"

Wendy didn't want to get her hopes up but she couldn't help but ask

"we don't know Wendy, but i doubt it"

Marcus could see the idea forming in her head but didn't want the young dragon slayer to get her hopes up

"something's wrong around here, the smell is off somehow"

Natsu had his nose to the air, Gray and Erza were tense as well, something didn't feel right

'ice make lance'

Gray's magic flowed from his hands and Natsu side-stepped perfectly to allow it to strike the figure behind him. a wordless flicker of understanding passed between them before they turned to confront their attacker

"i'm impressed you managed to see through my illusion, well some of my illusions"

the figure disappeared as did all of the people who had been moving through the streets, the real attacker perched on the low roof

"our leader has decided to deal with you before you have a chance to become a nusiance, you should be honoured he has taken interest in you"

all around them several mages all wearing the same uniform appeared unmasking their illusions

"we won't let you get into the vault"

Erza's words prompted a smile from the leader of the attackers

"you can't stop the black fantasy guild, goodbye"

he disappeared as did all the mages around him

"stay close, listen for the sound of their attack, their illusions cannot hide their sounds"

Erza requipped her sword and Lucy selected Loki's key

"maybe i can help with the listening"

'earth merge'

Marcus felt the movements of those around him through the earth

"Wendy behind you"

'iron fist of the fire dragon'

Wendy ducked under the punch and the mage behind her flew through the building

"guys they're attacking on all sides"

the next few seconds were a flurry of movement

'open the gate of the lion, Loki'

a flash of light blazed and the attackers faltered before being knocked back

'vernier'

a flurry of wind carried wendy out of harms reach at high speed

'requip heavens wheel armour, blumenblatt'

a rain of blades skewered three of the attackers. Marcus continued yelling directions guiding his friends, he barely noticed the shimmer of movement in front of him

'ice make knuckles'

the attackers fell back, their short blades had been barely and inch from Marcus

"Luke what are you doing, we need your help"

he had his eyes closed in the centre of the battle ignoring Lucy's shout

'aura of faith'

his eyes opened in a flash of light and the upper body of a huge armoured knight manifested itself around him

"leave this place"

his voice had a deep unnatural quality and the black fantasy mages all hesitated none of them realised their illusions flatered under the knight's gaze

'brilliant blaze of the fire dragon'

Natsu's tore a path of destruction through their remaining assailants, the rest scattered, after a few moments there was silence around them again

"you're friend almost got hurt why'd you wait so long to do that"

nobody could ignore the tension between Natsu and Luke

"luke's magic is tricky, he needs to be in control of his emotions before he manifests his aura, so drop it natsu"

Luke closed his eyes and turned away from Natsu, Marcus had a careful eye on his friend

"come on, if they have taken this village, then they're closer to the vault than we thought"

Luke turned to walk away but Wendy stopped him

"what about the people that lived here, the dark fantasy guild must have taken them somewhere, we have to help them"

they all realised she was right

"alright we will have to split up, Gray, Happy, Charle come with me, you can use your aera magic to find the villagers"

they all nodded and followed Erza

"the rest of us will continue the mission"

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><p>splitting up i think is for the best, i'm struggling to find something meaningful for them all to say with so many characters, as always reviews are appreciated<p> 


	4. the beast mage

hello again, i'm glad to be getting some reviews, they're allowing me to add more stuff to this story than i would have thought of alone, my latest review asks for some romance, so i'm going to be planting a few seeds of romance her and there, it will be slow moving stuff but will definitely be there, anyway please enjoy

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><p>Erza watched Happy and Charle drift gracefully through the air, they had found several set of tracks going north from the village, away from the likely destination of the vault<p>

"Hey Erza, you sure it was a good idea leaving Natsu and Wendy with Luke, they could end up fighting each other instead of the black fantasy mages"

She considered his words for a moment

"Marcus and Lucy will make sure no fights break out"

She was confident that Lucy could keep Natsu's temper in check, and if nothing else Luke listened to his friend

"Yeah i guess so"

High in the sky Happy and Charle still hadn't caught sight of the villagers

"I wish Erza had not asked us to seperate from Wendy and Natsu, i dread to think the trouble she could get into on her own"

Charle's face was lined with worry

"Don't worry Charle Natsu will protect Wendy"

Charle found some reassurance in his confidence

"He protects people close to him, it seems to be a trait the two of you share"

Happy thought he saw a flicker of a smile cross Charle's face

"Hey what's that?"

Happy had seen a blur of movement in the forest below, they both dived down towards Erza already they could see they were too late

"Gray!"

In a different part of the forest the second team was proceeding slowly, Luke had taken the lead and was picking his way through the trees, Lucy hung back slightly to talk to Marcus

"Why is your friend being so mean to Wendy and Natsu? he's never met them before has he?"

Marcus let out a small sigh before answering

"I can't say much, it's his secret to tell, but what i can tell you is that to him they are evil by association"

Lucy couldn't puzzle that out, what is it that Erza figured out on the train

"I still don't like him but his magic is impressive, and yours is pretty cool as well"

Marcus allowed himself a small smile

"Thanks"

He helped Lucy up over a large tree root and they continued walking

"Natsu, do you think we might find dragons in the vault"

Wendy was trying not to get her hopes up but the idea of finding Grandine or a way to locate her was too exciting

"I don't know, but i'm all fired up at the chance to meet igneel again"

They shared a smile before their eyes fell on Luke, he had stopped in his tracks

"I was told there might be a group of mages coming this way"

The woman who stood in front of them was short but muscular, she had a wild look in her eyes, her dark black hair was like a mane

"Are you going to try and stand in our way?"

Natsu couldn't keep the grin off his face, she looked like a fun opponent

"Of course, my master would expect nothing less from me, but i warn you i don't fight alone"

With a flash of magic more shapes moved out of the forest, before the group stood a hoard of creatures from across the continent

"She must be a beast mage, she can control and manipulate creatures, looks like she's collected them from all over Fiore

The woman let loose a burst of laughter aimed at Marcus

"Well aren't you a clever one, not many know of my magic, but that's enough talking, my pets are hungry, attack!"

They dived out of the way of the intial stampede. a flash of quills was the only warning of the next attack

'Iron merge'

The rain of quills bounced harmlessly off of Marcus's iron skin. he struck down as the beast launched itself and there was a sickening crunch

'Open the gate of the bull, Taurus'

Lucy's spirit burst from the ground and broke through the stampede

"You will not hurt Lucy's lovely body"

'wing slash of the fire dragon'

Most of the beasts scattered before Natsu's fire

"How dare you hurt my babies"

The beast mage let loose a roar and the ground shook at her command, a huge behemoth scattered trees as it appeared behind her, pointing her finger it charged first at Lucy swatting Taurus as it went

"I'm sorry Lucy, try to keep your lovely body safe"

Lucy hesitated terrified of the beast before her

'aura of faith'

She hadn't noticed Luke jump between her and the beast, he caught the beast by the shoulders, but the horned snout of the behemoth pierced the Knight's chest. leaving a trickle of blood trailing from Luke's mouth

'talons of the fire dragon'

Natsu came down hard on the behemoths back and crushed it into the ground

'roar of the sky dragon'

the beast mage never even noticed Wendy. the blast of wind sent her spiralling through the trees, landing in an unconcious heap, Wendy allowed herself a small smile before turning to Luke

"Here i can heal your chest for you"

He took one look at Wendy before turning his head

"I'm fine, let's keep moving"

He tried to Walk a couple of steps but stumbled, Marcus caught him just in time

"You are not fine, now lie down so Wendy can help you"

He looked ready to argue for a second, but the concern in Marcus's face changed his mind, nodding to Wendy he lay down on the forest floor to let her heal him

"I never would have believed he would save me like that"

Lucy was still a little shaken from her encounter with the behemoth, Marcus couldn't help but smile

"I know you got off to a bad start, considering how he feels about your friends, but he isn't a bad guy Lucy"

She nodded her head, there was more to Luke than she thought, she watched as Wendy healed Luke's chest

"I never would have imagined a dragon teaching anyone such gentle magic"

Wendy thought he might be making fun of her, but there was no trace of mockery in his voice

"You only think of Dragons as ferocious and deadly, and although they can be both of those things, they can also be kind and wise too"

He shook his head

"Not in my experience"

Luke realised a second too late what he had said

"You've met a dragon?"

Natsu had turned to him, a look of disbelief on his face. Luke just turned away his face stubborn

"Natsu trust me, it wasn't either of your dragons that Luke met OK"

Marcus knew Luke had said more than he meant to

"But if it isn't Igneel maybe it can lead us to him, come on you have to tell us where you saw it"

Natsu had grabbed Luke, a look of barely hidden desperation on his face

"Natsu i haven't finished healing him yet now let go!"

Wendy shouting surprised everyone, Natsu let Luke go and went to stand watch over their makeshift camp

"they're more alike than either would admit, both of them would give anything to see their parents again"

Lucy nodded in confusion before looking at Natsu, wishing there was something she could say to make him feel better, something that could take his pain away

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><p>i've been leaving hints throughout these first four chapters, points to anyone who can guess the identity of the dragon that Luke met, as always reviews are appreciated, see you next chapter<p> 


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